Episode description

Today, I'm talking with Annette Pimentel. She's a mother of six children and an author of children's non-fiction literature. Today we're talking about how she learned to embrace who she is to be an authentic mother and to use her strengths and talents to create a culture in her home that allows her to fully be her as well as to use her strengths to solve problems.

• Knowing the story of why you made a decision during a hard time helps form who you are.
• Being a mom doesn't mean you can't be authentic to yourself. Sometimes the best solutions we come up with are the ones that come from our core of passions and talents.
• The things we care about can be the center of your mothering. Those things can become your toolkit for being a mother.
• It takes creativity to truly be who we are and still solve those parenting problems, but they are the most authentic.
• Become friends with the librarians! They are an amazing resource and love seeing people who care about books.
• Books and stories (and the conversations you have about them) can help you maintain closeness with your children as they grow older.
• Check out books and read them before you read them to your kids if you think they might have a viewpoint that is uncomfortably different from your own so you can think through things you can talk about together.
• Stories about everyday people who can change the world are amazing. You don't have to be a famous person, or even particularly smart. You don't have to be rich. You just have to feel passionately about something and you can change the world!
• The family routines can allow your family to feel safe even when circumstances change. Your home becomes the safe haven when life around gets crazy. Resources

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